Governance: An international journal of policy, administration and institutions

Book reviews: Freedom of Information in the developing world; oligarchy and governmental reform

In the current issue of Governance, Tom McClean of the London School of of Economics reviews Freedom of Information and the Developing World by Colin Darch and Peter Underwood. The book represents “a valuable contribution to scholarship on FOI,” McClean says, and challenges conventional wisdom about its role in advancing democratic goals. Open access to the review for the month of October.

Also in the current issue: Clay Wescott reviews Oligarchy by Jeffery Winters of Northwestern University. This “provocative work” examines the role of oligarchs in many countries, including the advanced democracies. Winters’ book provides “fresh insights,” says Wescott, and helps to explain when efforts to curb corruption and decentralize authority might succeed or fail. Read the review.